Good times always on UNCW Hall of Fame inductee Bill Harris' mind

By Chuck Carree, Chuck.Carree@StarNewsOnline.com

Wednesday

Jan 27, 2010 at 2:44 PM

For decades, Bill Harris has been a fixture at UNC-Wilmington athletic events, particularly basketball and baseball.

For decades, Bill Harris has been a fixture at UNC-Wilmington athletic events, particularly basketball and baseball.His devotion, and past athletic prowess will be rewarded Saturday, when he joins four others for enshrinement in the UNCW Athletic Hall of Fame."It means a great honor to be with the ones already in there,'' Harris said.According to Harris, it ranks alongside his induction into the Hamlet Wall of Fame.He is from the small Richmond County town, one of two ex-Major League Baseball players from the town. The other was Franklin Stubbs, who also is in the Wall of Fame."To be inducted into the UNCW Hall of Fame, where I have seen this school grow leaps and bounds is something,'' Harris said.When Harris enrolled in the early 1960s, he recalls then-Wilmington College consisted of three buildings and a baseball field house."So this hall of fame means a great deal to me,'' he said.It also is a big deal to him being the first player from the 1963 national junior college championship squad to go into the hall.That year, he batted .378 and reached base 18 of 21 at bats in the World Series.He also played on the Seahawks' basketball squad.Harris noted he has seen theSeahawks go through both highs and lows throughout the years following a two-year major league career as an infielder."But I am always there, no matter what,'' he said.At Brooks Field, Harris and several former players around his era sit near the backstop at virtually every game.In his acceptance speech, he intends to reminisce about the 1963 champions.He insists the players on the championship squad grew up together, although most were from different regions of the state.When he arrived as a freshman, coach Bill Brooks returned only two starters from the previous season. So the national champions consisted of seven freshmen starters and two key pitchers also were freshmen."So we grew up together since we were just out of high school and most of us had not gone outside our hometowns,'' Harris said.He hardly knew the freshman class, although he played against some in American Legion ball and met one player at the East-West all-star game over the summer."We sort of jelled together,'' Harris said. "There was no bickering. Everybody knew they had a job to do and we did it.''He noted virtually all the players periodically gather for a round of golf and catch up on old times.What makes his induction special is some of his ex-teammates have told him they are going to attend."We are still family,'' he said. "If one of us is sick, we make a series of phone calls to make sure someone from that team will be there to support or lend a helping hand.''Chuck Carree: 343.2262

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